Arthtfr eichenqbttsf



straw, wood and the like, inflaming.

The fire-proofing'or minimlzingactionof these substances is generallydue to the fact Patented 28, 192 6. j

:am ;ism-res PATENT OFFICE.

earner; nrcnnimiauu; or cnaano'rrnmaoae, Grimm;

METHOD or IREVEN'IING .nasrnii-riirmumnnn ARTICLES rnorr j ornx'rmeuisnme FIR-E.

INFLAMING AND No llrawlflg. Applicationflled August s, 1923, Serial m.5,515, and in Germany August 10, 1922.

The invention relates to a methodiof preventing easily inflammablearticles from inllaming and of extinguishing fire.

A number of. substances have been pro- 5 posed for'preventin r orminimizing the pos-.

'sibility of easily iniiiainmable articles such as' curtains and othertextile fabrics, paper,

that they provide the article to be protected with a coating, whichprevents the spreading of the flames, or .that when heated they evolvegases suchas .ammonia, carbon diox ide. sulphur'ous acid and the like,which either hinder freeaccess of air to the articles, l or mix with'thegases produced by the action of theflames upon the articles thusprevent- Hing, ormmninzmgthe'posslbility of said gases, inflaming.letalhc salts, ammonium salts, boric acid, phosphoric acid, silicicacid,

tungstic" acid, titanic acid and mixtures thereof, and many otherchemicals have been proposed as fire-proofing agents; These chemicalsare generally used in solution,

and the articles to be fire-proofedare im regnated therewith. Thehitherto, known lIG-PIOOfiHg compositions have however-cer- 'taindisadvantages. y

An ideal fire proofcompositionshould be colourless and odourless, shouldnot'unduly increase the weight of the articles treated,

nor render them still, or otherwise influence their flexibility; it mustnot be hygroscopic, 35.poisonous or corrosive; it must not attack thecolours, nor be Visible on the impregnated articles; and it shouldretain its action permanently, and must adhere so firmly to the fibre asto prevent its removal during.

in ordinary usage, for instance, bending, or folding; it should not onlyprevent the article from burning when exposed to a flame but also fromglowing; and it should be capable of being applied as a relativelydilutesolution, not only to raw materials, but also to finishedarticles, such as carpets,cur taiiis, upholstery and thelik'e, in situ.

As far as I am aware, none of the known lire-proofing compositionspossesses all these qualities. Generally, their action is too weak sothat the articles have to be completely saturated with thesepreparations which has the disadvantage that they become too stiff allycrystallize or sweat out and detract from the appearance of the article.

Salts of ammonia with strong acids such as ammonium sulphatelandammonium phosphate are liable ton-ttack the colour or fibres of somearticles. especially when the r articles are passed through hot rollersor ironed;

' Boric acid salts, such as for example borax, form crusts and have aninsuflicient fireproofing action. Moreover articles impregnatedtherewith glow after a flame has been applied; i

od'ium phosphate also has an insuflicient fire-proofing action Whilstammonium phos phate, although one of the most efiicient fireproofingagents, exhibits particularly the disadvantage of after-glowing;

Compounds of silicic acid, for example water-glass, in spite ofpossessing at the beginning a very good protective action, when exposedto great heat burn superficially, and moreover cause very greatafter-glowing;

. Even the more expensive fire-proofing preparations, such as tungsticacid, titanic acid and the like, although not possessing the abovementioned disadvantages to the same degree, are attended by the drawbackthat their application is cumbersome and that they are expensive.

The present invention aims at overcoming the aforesaid disadvantages.

I have found that ammonium bromide is I especially suitable as afire-preventing agent,

because in-contradistinction to any of the hitherto known compounds, notonly does it fire-proof the articles, but also, on heating, gases aredeveloped which have the property of smothering flames to anextraordinary 'degree.

"'- It is true that other halogen ammonia compositions for exampleammonium chloride have the property of being decomposed by heat anddeveloping ammonia. which smothers the flames, but in contradistinctionto these known ammonium salts, ammonium bromide is not decomposed intoammonia when heated, but it forms gaseous decomposition products of anunknown nature, which have the property of smothering the flames to anextraordinary degree.

Although ammonium bromide has this ex- -traordinary property, it doesnotaltogetherpregnated therewith when exposedto. flames.-

I vantageous in connection with the impregna- Y articles therewith in acertain way.

cles impregnated with ammonium prevent the after-glowing of thearticle's'imai sromide treating. the

eve now found that the glowi can be effectively preventedby The resentinvention provides ti -method I of pro ucing in easily inflammablearticles impregnating, coating, spraying or the like,

a condition adapted to prevent their flaming which consists in treating,for example" by the articles to be fireproofed with or en-.

7 veloping or surrounding them with a com position comprising thecombination of ammonium bromide and neutral or basic com-- bustion'imped ng ammonium salts of organ-- io 'or inorganic acids, orfa' mixtureof acid salts with the addition of neutralizing alkalis or ammonia orammonium salts (i. e., weaker acids e. g. the acid action of acidammonium 1 phosphate can be neutralized by ammonium carbonate);the'quantities of the latter being articles, butjust sufiicient to'prevent ingot the flame.

in' themselves insufiicient to fireproof the lowtreated articles whenexposed to a I have -found articles impnegnated'or containin sucha-co'mbinat1on of ammonium bromi e with ammonium phosphate or thelike-are not only. completely prevented from bnrning-butfmoreover that aparticular feature of the combination is that when exposed to a'flamefor a considerable time, the articles impregnated therewith areabsolutely prevented .from after-glowing,

which is not the case withindividual components alone. Moreover, underthe-influence of heat, gases are evolved which have an extraordinaryefi'ectin. extinguishingor smotherin the flames this property beingconsiderably more markedthan if ammonium bromide were used alone,because not only is the whole molecule of ammonium bromide decomposedbut other ammonium salts are also decomposed into flame extinbromide areadmirably adapted to extinguishing ases and the vapours and fumesproduced by the combined interaction of the various ammonium salts yielda thick white smoke, whereas in the case of ordinary ammonium salts onlyabout a sixth of the ammonium salts is decomposed into ammonia gas.

These preparations containing ammonium guish fires.

In addition to the aforesaid advantages, such a combination has theproperty that the salts are less liable to crystallize out than when theindividual components are used alone. This is probably explainable bythe fact that salt solutions can be prevented from crystallizing by theaddition of other salts. B making use of this phenomenon very big 1yconcentrated solutions can used for' 'iinpreglitiating inflammablearticles without any ris of the salts crystallizin out upon thearticles, which is especially a tion of ver fine fabrics, having a shiftor tender sur ace, such as velvet, velveteen,-

plush or the like, which cannot be treated;

with the hitherto known fire-proofing agents.

The flexibility of the. articles is hardly altered at all. Neverthelessthe flexibility may 1f desired becompletely maintaned, it

the above combination of ammomum bronude and ammonium phosphate.

The 'new fire-proofing combination has the additional advantage that itcan be applied not only to raw or unfinished materials, but also tofinished articles." Thus, for example, when fire-proofingfabrics needonly be moistened with a solution of the composition by means ofasponge, brush, spraying apparatus or thelike. VVhen'fire proofingcarpets, it is sufiicient to use an ordinary watering can or spray for.this purpose.

The whole carpet or' other article to be fireproofed may of course bepassed through a I the composimen, the surplus solution beingsubsequently,

ath containing asolution of squeezed out.

at the same time substances are used which The fire-proofing compositionis so stable that the articles treated therewith may be ironed aftertreatment, or be steamed, for instance in the case of velvet or plush.

In all cases, the impregnation is completely invisible and cannot bedetected from the feel, but only on trying to burn the articles. Anydesired absorbent material can be fire-proofed such as textile fabrics,fibres, paper cardboards, and softwoods. It is moreover, possible tofire-proof wooden floors, for example in works, public buildllU ings anddance-halls, roofs, structures or the like, by a mere spraying on of thefire-proofing agent.

It, is of course immaterial whether the finished articles areimpregnated with the composition of the present invention, or

whether the material is impregnated prior to being worked up into thefinished article. Thus, for instance, .in the production of Chineselanterns or other fairy lamps, it is possible to impregnate the paper orother material prior to the manufacture of the lamps.

It is also possible to protect articles by packing them in material suchas Wood shavings, sawdust or paper waste impregnated with thecomposition of the present invention, or the wooden boxes, cartons, orcard- '.t ion-is that it not only acts tative, but also as afire-extinguisher,owing:

minimizing the possibility of the preventing the propagation of- I boardboxes may be impregnated with the fire-proofing composition.

As previously stated, a very remarkable property of the newfire-proofing compositirely decomposed into flame-extinguishing gasesthe volume of which gases is a multiple of that of the gases evolved byother rnown fire-extinguishing agents.

v This latter property renders it possible by heating combustiblearticles such as fabrics,

I paper, wood or the like, partly or wholly immerchandise instore-rooms, goods, ships holds and thelike, from fire,

pregnated with the new fire-proofing composition, to extinguish any firewhich should start in the room. This property is of great importance forprotecting, for instance wagons, all that is necessary being to coversaid goods with, for example sheets, sacking, saw dust or the I likeimpregnatedwith the fire-proofing agent. As soon as a fire should breakout,

the heat of the tire will decompose the fireproofing composition and thefire extinguishing gases evolved in large vojumes 'Wlll.

immediately extinguish the flames, thus preventing a spread of the fire.Thus, in ad-- dition to its fire-proofing action the new composition isalso adapted to act as an automatic extinguishing means. H In additionto ammonium phosphate, other easily volatilizablesubstances may be-added, more especiall; combustion impeding ammoniumsalts 0 organic orinorganic' acids, such as molybd-ic acid, boric acid,.. tungstic acid,and the like.

amounts of such salts are necessary to'prevent after-glowing oftheammonium bro-.'

.comprising the combination Only small the quantities being considerablyless mide,

would'be the case if they were used than alone.

Another important application of the invention is the extinction of coaland the like fires in grates, boilers or the like. It for'example,impregnated combustible materials, such as paper waste, wood waste, woodshavings or sawdust-are impregnated according to the process of thepresent invention, mixed with non-impregnated parts, and this mixture ofimpregnated materials and nonimpregnated materials is placed beneath acoal fire in a domestic grate and ignited, the

non-impregnated parts burn, the heat gen-' erated thereby decomposes theimpregnating composition, andthe ascending vapours ex as a fire-preven Ifor example tinguish the fire within a very short time, for example oneminute. g. v

It is thus possible to extinguish a fire in household grates at -nightinstead of allowing the coals to burn out and consequently to effect aconsiderable economy in fuel.

'Not only is this method applicable to household purposes, butalso todamping or extinguishing fires in locomotives, steam boilers, factories,central heating installations. and the like. An additionaladvantage isthat the fire can be extinguished in 7 situ, so that it is no longernecessary to remove the ignited'fuel before extinguishing it by water orother means. I

The invention is also applicable to'the fire-proofing of certainmaterials, such as wings of aeroplanes, hoods of. motor-cars and thelike. It ;is well known that linen, although it is only very slightlyinflammable alone, when im regna'ted with rubber solution or comes moreinflammable than before.

with cell ose acetate, be-- my British Patent No. 7418/1913 I have al- 7ready called attentionto this fact. I have mentioned' therein thatalthough cellulose v acetate possesses littleor no inflammability,'.

whenfibrous materials are impregnated or coated therewith, saidcellulose acetate will burn strongly, and-in some cases is liable, whenthe flames were once. fairly started at any point, to burn more stronglyand to be even more diflicult to extinguish, than the;

individual materials.

I have found that when the process ofthe present invention is applied tothe treatment of aeroplane fabrics, it not only makes the fabricfire-proof, but also smothers any fire that might start, for instance bythe burns ing of benzene, petrol or the like. However,

ter soluble they must be ter-proof coating I-claimi 1. Method'of'producing a condition adapt e dftd prevent the flaming ofeasilyinflamin treating the articleto be tireproofed with a compositioncomprising the combination of ammonium bromide with suflicientquantities of al'n monium phosphate'to prevent, in combination with theammonium bromide, the afterglowing of the treated articles when 'exposedto a flame.

3. Method of producing a condition adaptof easily inflam mable articleswhich consists in treating the .inasmuch as some of the Sal s used are1' protected byof ammonium I I enveloping edto prevent thecontinued-flaming of easi ammable articles which consists in the articletobe protected with a composrtion'comprising" the combination ofammonium brom de with suflicient quantities of a combustion impedingammonium salt to prevent, in combination with the amly in moniumbromide,'the after-glowing of the treated articles when exposed toaflame. i 4. Method of producing a condition adaptedjto reventthecontinued flaming of easiinammable articles which consists in envelopingthe'article to be protected with 'l a composition "comprising thecombination I ofammonium bromide with suflicient quan- ,"tlties ofammonium r combination with t lphosphate to prevent, in

. 1 i 5. Met 'od of roducing a conditlonadapted to preventt e flaming ofeasily inflamni'able'articles *which consists in treating the articleto, be' fireproofed with a composlti'on comprising the combination ofammonium bromide with suflicient quantities of a combustion impedingammonium salt to prevent,

- ..in combination with the ammonium bromide,

the after-glowing of the treated articles whenexposed to a flame, andadmixing with the treated article a hy roscopic substance,

adapted to counteract t e stiffening action of the fireproofingingredients. 6. Method of roclucing a condition adapt- I ved to preventtie flaming of easily, inflammable articles which consists in treatingthe article to be fireproofed with a composition comprising thecombination of ammonium bromide with suflicient quantities of ammoniumphosphate to prevent, in combination with the ammonium bromide, theafterglowing of the treated articles when ex- .poscd to'a'flame, andadmixing with the treated 'article a; hygrosco ic substance ed toprevent the continued flaming of easily inflammable articles over anincreasing area which consists in surrounding the articles to beprotected with a material wholly or partly treated with a compositioncomprising the combination of ammonium bromide with a sufficientquantity of ame ammonium bromide,- the .afterglowing of the treated'a'rticles' when" ex o'sedto a ti tion with'the ammonium bromide, theafterglowing oi the tea flame.

9. Method of producing a condition adapttreated articles when exposedm.... ed to" revent' the continued'flaming of easi ly m ammableartlcle's over an 1ncreasin'g area which consists in covering thearticles 'to 'be protected with a combustible material wholly or' partlytreated with a composition comprising the combination of amn'ioniumbromide with asufiicient quantity of a combustion imped ngammonium saltto pre; vent, =II1 combmation with the ammonium bromide, theafter-glowing of thetreated I articles when-exposed to. a flame.

prevent the continued flaming rotected with a combustible 10. Method--of producing ajconditioni amm ablearticl es over an ini ammoniumbromide with a suflicie'nt quantity of ammonium phosphate ,to prevent,in

combination with the ammonium bromide,'.

the after-glowing of -the treated, articles when exposed to a flame. a

11. Method of producing a condition adapted to prevent the continuedflaming of eas1 treating the articles to be protected, with a solutionof a composition comprising the combination of ammonium bromide. with asufficient quantity of a combustion. impeding ammonium salt to prevent,in combination with the ammonium bromide, the afterglowing of thetreated articles when exposed to a flame.

12. Method of producing. a condition adapted to prevent thecontinuedflaming of easily inflammable articles which consists in treating thearticles to be protected with a solution of a composition comprismg thecombination of ammonium bromide with a suflicient quantity of ammoniumphosphate to prevent, in combination with theammonium bromide, the Iafter-glowing "of the treated articles when exposed'to a' 13. Method ofproducing a condition adapted to prevent the continued flaming of easilyinflammable materials which consists in throwing into the fire materialimpregnated with a composition comprising the combination of ammoniumbromide with a suflicient quantity of a combustion impedmg ammonium saltto prevent, in combination with the ammonium bromide, the afterglowingof the treated material when exposed to a flame.

14. Method of producing a condition adapted to prevent the continuedflaming of easily inflammable materials which consists in throwing intothe fire material imyinflammable articles which consists in pregnatedwith a composition comprising the combination of ammonium bromide with asufficient quantity of ammonium phosphate to prevent, in combinationwith the' ammonium bromide, the after-glowing of the treated materialwhen exposed to a flame. f'

15. Method 1 of producing a condition adapted to prevent the continuedflaming of easily inflammable materials such as coal or the like firesin domestic grates, locomotives, boilers and central heatinginstallations, which consists in causing "vapours produced by heating acomposition comprismg the combinat on of ammonium bromide and acombustion impeding ammonium salt to act upon said burning or glowingmaterials.

16. Method of producing a condition -ada ted to prevent the continuedflaming of

